Men's Hockey to Play in Second Annual Liberty Hockey Invitational

Newark, N.J. (July 21, 2014) – Prudential Center today announced that it will host the second annual Liberty Hockey Invitational on Friday, October 31 and Sunday, November 2 featuring the 250th meeting between Princeton University and Yale University’s men’s hockey programs, plus first-time participants University of Connecticut and Merrimack College.

Tickets for the event go on sale to the public on Friday, August 1 at 10:00 a.m. through www.ticketmaster.com and on Monday, August 4 at 11:00 a.m. at the Prudential Center box office. Ticket prices are $35 and $60 for all-session passes and $20 and $35 for individual games. Special discounts for students and alumni are available through each school’s athletic department ticket office and alumni association. Group ticket offers are also available through Prudential Center Group Sales at grpsales@prucenter.com or by calling (973) 757-6250.

The two-day, four game contest will feature UConn against Merrimack in the opening game at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, October 31 followed by a matchup between tournament host Princeton and Ivy League opponent Yale at 7:30 p.m. The championship game will be played Sunday, November 2 at 4:00 p.m. immediately following the third-place match at 1:00 p.m.

The Princeton and Yale rivalry dates back to January 19, 1901, when the Tigers defeated the Bulldogs 5-0. The teams have faced each other in 249 games with Yale holding a 138-102-9 edge in the all-time series.

“High level collegiate hockey is a must-see sport, so we are thrilled to host the Liberty Hockey Invitational again this year,” said Prudential Center president Hugh Weber. “We are excited to welcome the students, their families and the alumni of these programs, as well as hockey fans in the area, and hope they enjoy our world-class facilities and everything Newark has to offer.”

The 2014-15 season will mark the 111th season of varsity hockey at Princeton and first under newly appointed head coach Ron Fogarty. Fogarty leads all active NCAA coaches’ men’s hockey in win percentage.

Princeton has had 10 players move on to professional careers in the NHL, including Jeff Halpern, Darroll Powe, George Parros, Kevin Westgarth and Taylor Fedun. A total of 23 Tigers have been drafted in the NHL since the draft's inception in 1963.

Yale, the 2013 NCAA Champions, is coming off a 17-11-5 campaign last winter that included a sweep of its arch rival Harvard in the first round of the ECAC Hockey Tournament. Yale graduated just three seniors from the 2013-14 squad and returns plenty of seasoned and skilled skaters at all positions.

The UConn men’s hockey program begins its first season of play in Hockey East in 2014-15. The Huskies are under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Cavanaugh, who came to Storrs after 18 seasons as an assistant at Boston College where he helped lead the Eagles to four national titles (2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012). Senior forward Ryan Tyson was named captain with senior forward Trevor Gerling and junior forward Patrick Kirtland tabbed as alternates for the Huskies inaugural run through one of the nation’s top-conferences.

The Merrimack College men’s ice hockey team is a proud member of Hockey East and enters its 59th season of varsity competition in 2014-15. Merrimack joined the Division I ranks in 1984-85 after skating as a Division II member from 1956-57 and was accepted into Hockey East in 1989-90. The Warriors have qualified for the postseason in each of the last five seasons and have made six NCAA Tournament appearances and two at the Division I level, with the last occurring in 2010-11, their best season at the Division I level. Merrimack has won seven ECAC Championships and claimed the NCAA Division II national championship in 1977-78. The Navy and Gold will boast a young squad this winter after graduating six seniors and eight total letterwinners; the team will welcome 11 incoming freshmen and should rank among the youngest teams nationwide.

Last year’s inaugural Liberty Hockey Invitational featured an all-Ivy League lineup of teams as Princeton, Yale, Brown and Dartmouth battled for the Liberty Trophy. Brown won the tournament with a 4-1 opening win over Yale and a 5-3 victory over Dartmouth to secure the trophy.

About Prudential Center Prudential Center is home to the three-time Stanley Cup Champion and 2011-2012 Eastern Conference Champion New Jersey Devils, Seton Hall NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball and over 200 events a year including major concerts, the NCAA East Regional, the NBA Draft and the 2013 NHL Draft. Opened in October 2007, the arena welcomes over 2 million guests through its doors annually, ranking third in the U.S. for year-end 2013, according to leading industry publication Venues Today. Prudential Center is located in downtown Newark just two blocks from Newark Penn Station, accessible via NJ Transit, PATH and Amtrak, while at the heart of cross-roads for five major highway access routes and 12 miles from midtown Manhattan.